In reviewing my Blogs, I noticed that my post on Communication remains the most read, by a large margin, of all my Blogs. It has been read in over 90 countries.
Here it is again for those who haven’t seen it or for those who might enjoy reading it again! I hope these ideas lead to a happier, more fulfilling environment in your homes and workplaces and to much greater, more sustainable success!
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Two major life events have consumed and defined my year 2014: completion of The DNA of the Resilient Organization and the passing of my father, Robert Joseph Van Handel. They are surely the heaviest impact events of my life. In working on both areas today, I was hit by the realization that the most important factor in achieving success in both our personal and work lives is Communication.
How many people, in realizing that they are coming to the end of their lives, contemplate the relationships that could have been more fruitful and more joyous if they had taken more steps to improve Communication? Most, if not all, I am sure. My Dad certainly did. As his eldest and the one closest to him geographically and emotionally in both early and late years, I was privileged to hear and to understand that about him. He had great regrets.
As the confidante of hundreds of leaders and observer of their companies, I can attest to the heavy impact and needless damage caused by insufficient and ineffective communication among leaders and with their troops. Most leaders don’t see the cause of their internal problems as inadequate communication.
In The DNA of the Resilient Organization, I describe the Barriers to Successful Change. They are ALL related to ineffective communication.
1. People aren’t listened to (or perceive they aren’t).
2. People from diverse levels and related groups aren’t sufficiently involved in planning.
3. People don’t trust one another – because leaders don’t sufficiently exercise or promote open communication and sharing.
4. People are afraid of failure because penalties for failing are greater than the rewards for taking risk.
Those same barriers get in the way of good family relationships and lead to unresolved family differences, jealousies, and walls between one another. The greatest loss from lack of interpersonal, proactive (even occasionally confrontational) communication in both our home and work lives is the inability to build environments of joy. Effective communication leads to a happier, more fulfilling environment in homes and in workplaces.
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